Clarksons has booked its best-ever results for the first half of the year, aided by strong performance from its shipbroking activities.

The London-listed company reported increased net profit before tax of £52.2m ($66.4m), equivalent to 130.5p in earnings per share. This is up from £42.0m a year ago when Clarksons earned 98.5p per share.

Profit from Clarksons’ Broking division totalled £58.2m,